Online Assessment UpdateRegion 6

February 24, 2012

Brief History of Online Testing in NC

• Spring 2005 – Online Test of Computer Skills

• Spring 2007– End-of-Course Online Tests– Algebra I, Algebra II, Biology, Civics,

English I, Geometry, US History

• 2007-08 – End-of-Course Online Tests– Physical Science– Physics: No Paper-and-Pencil Version

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Timeline for the Transition

• 2011-12 (NCTest version 2.5)

– Online field tests

– Participation in more than one EOC online tests

• 2012-13

– Operational administrations

– Participation in all available online tests

• 2014-15

– Operational Assessments from SMARTER Balanced (3-8 Math and ELA and one High School Assessment in ELA and Math (w/ Performance Tasks in 9 &10)

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/acre/assessment/nextgenassessments.pdf

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Why Transition to Online Assessments?

• Computer-Adaptive Testing

• Performance tasks delivered online

• Interim assessments and formative practices delivered online (IIS)

• Professional development delivered online

• 2014-15 - SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium www.smarterbalanced.org

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SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium

Purpose•To develop a comprehensive and innovative assessment system for grades 3-8 and high school in English language arts and mathematics aligned to the Common Core State Standards, so that... •...students leave high school prepared for postsecondary success in college or a career through increased student learning and improved teaching

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SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium

• More rigorous tests measuring student progress toward “college and career readiness”

• Have common, comparable scores across member states, and across consortia

• Provide achievement and growth information to help make better educational decisions and professional development opportunities

• Assess all students, except those with “significant cognitive disabilities” (separate consortium for this assessment work)

• Administer online, with timely results• Use multiple measures

Source: Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 68 / Friday, April 9, 2010 pp. 18171-85

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Benefits of New Online Assessments

• Universal Design– Designed for increased accessibility– One-item per test page– Large font– Foreground/Background color scheme– Virtual highlighter, calculator

• Computer Reads Test Aloud—Student Controlled Accommodation

• (Note: Headphones are required unless one-on-one.)

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Benefits (continued)

• Developed as Online Assessments• Student Engagement• Technology-Enhanced/Interactive Items• Flexible Scheduling/Staffing• Storage Space• Test Security• Reporting• Environmentally Friendly• Cost-Effective

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NC Test Version 2.5 – Technical Requirements (effective fall 2011)https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/mod/page/view.php?id=9271 •Suggested browsers include:

– IE 7, 8 on Windows XP & Vista

– IE 7, 8, & 9 on Windows 7

– IE 6 is NOT supported

– Firefox 3.6+

– Safari 5+

– Chrome 10+

•Adobe Flash 10+

•Screen minimum resolution – 1024 x 768 (lower resolutions work, but require more scrolling)

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Technical Requirements (cont.)

• 56 Kbps per student of clear bandwidth preferred

• Mobile and tablet devices are not certified for use at this time (September 12, 2011).

• 1024 x 768 Screen resolution for best performance. Lower vertical resolutions for netbook devices is possible, but will increase the amount of scrolling required to fully view items.

• The following operating systems are supported: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.4 or greater. 

Note: We are working on adding full support for iPads. Currently the video tutorials and calculator are Flash-based and need to be replaced. Other features such as drag and drop (used to order items when creating assessments), strike-out and highlight will also need to be redesigned to work on iPads.

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Assessment Tutorial

• Tutorial is not a test• It is available to the public• Strongly recommend that all students complete

before test day• Use computers students will use on test day• Familiarize students and test administrators• Determine the font size and/or color scheme• Minimal test of configurations if completed

simultaneously

https://center.ncsu.edu/nctestv3/NCTestSim.html

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Resources

• Best Practices Guidehttp://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/assessment/guide/

• Comparability Studyhttp://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/acre/assessment/onlinecompstudy.pdf

• Test Specificationshttp://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/assessment/online/

• NCTest Informationhttps://center.ncsu.edu/nc/course/view.php?id=361

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Questions?

Kayla SilerPolicy and Planning Analyst

kayla.siler@dpi.nc.gov

Websites for more information:http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/assessment/online/

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing/

http://www.smarterbalanced.org

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